The present invention generally relates to magnetic disc cartridge loading and unloading mechanisms, and more particularly to a magnetic disc cartridge loading and unloading mechanism for a magnetic disc recording and/or reproducing apparatus which carries out a recording and/or a reproduction of a signal with respect to a magnetic disc accommodated within a magnetic disc cartridge which is provided with a shutter.
Generally, a magnetic disc cartridge (hereinafter simply referred to as a cartridge) is inserted horizontally into a holder of a magnetic disc cartridge loading and unloading mechanism, through a cartridge inserting opening in a front panel of a magnetic disc recording and/or reproducing apparatus. The cartridge is lowered together with the holder to a loaded position within the recording and/or reproducing apparatus. When unloading the cartridge, the holder is raised together with the cartridge, and the cartridge is ejected out of the holder through the cartridge inserting opening in the front panel.
The recording and/or reproducing apparatus is provided with a shutter opening mechanism, and a shutter of the cartridge is opened by the shutter opening mechanism as the cartridge is inserted into the holder. The shutter is normally closed to cover windows in the cartridge. The shutter opening mechanism also has the function of ejecting (that is, pushing) the cartridge out of the holder. However, in the conventional loading and unloading mechanism, the shutter opening mechanism is designed to apply a pushing force on the cartridge in a cartridge ejecting direction even when the cartridge is inserted to a final position within the holder and the shutter is opened, when the cartridge is in the loaded position in the recording and/or reproducing apparatus, and also when the holder is rising during an initial stage of a cartridge unloading operation.
For this reason, during an initial stage of a cartridge loading operation, the user must hold a rear end of the cartridge which is being inserted into the holder by his finger tips so that the cartridge will not be pushed out by the pushing force exerted by the shutter opening mechanism. In other words, there is a problem in that the cartridge may be pushed out of the holder and may not be inserted properly into the holder if the holding force on the rear end of the cartridge is insufficient.
In addition, it is undesirable from the point of view of maintaining a high cartridge positioning accuracy when the cartridge in the loaded position is pushed in the cartridge ejecting direction.
Furthermore, the movement of the cartridge in the cartridge ejecting direction is restricted by a back surface of the front panel which contacts the rear end of the cartridge, for example.
Therefore, even during the initial stage of the cartridge unloading operation when the cartridge is raised together with the holder, the cartridge is constantly applied with the pushing force acting in the cartridge ejecting direction, and thus, the ejection of the cartridge is started immediately when the cartridge rises to a position confronting the cartridge inserting opening in the front panel. Accordingly, the height position of the cartridge which is ejected is determined by the position of the cartridge inserting opening in the front panel.
The mounting position of the front panel on the recording and/or reproducing apparatus is slightly inconsistent among the recording and/or reproducing apparatuses due to inevitable mounting error. Hence, when the front panel is mounted at a height position lower than a regular height position, the cartridge is ejected before magnetic heads of the recording and/or reproducing apparatus completely move out of the way from a state where the magnetic heads are in contact with a magnetic disc accommodated within the cartridge through the windows in the cartridge. As a result, the closing shutter may hit and scratch head surfaces of the magnetic heads, and there is a problem in that the magnetic heads are easily damaged due to the inevitable mounting error of the front panel on the recording and/or reproducing apparatus.